Hi,

I just got done tuning my new 02 Max with 54k.

Plugs: The electrodes were worn down and looked like they needed replacement. Paid about 60.00 at Courtesy

Intake TB: The TB was very dirty as was the intake. I was glad I took this aparart and gave it a through cleaning. 3.00 can of carb cleaner

Gas filter: Dirty as hell. About 10.00

PCV: Not too bad cleaning it would have been fine but they are so cheap and easy to replace. About 6.00

That's about it. 100k is way too long for a tuneup. I think 50-60k is a good time for a complete tuneup.

 

every 30k u should do a major service (tune-up)

 

What are you talking about.

 

sounds like u been using alot of cheap gas..........

 

lsat i last i checked all we're supposed to do every 30k is change oil/filter, rotate tires, replace air filter, drain+fill tranny (at minimum if you dont flush), drain refill coolant, reset idle....and change spark plugs when needed

 

Oh yeah. I did my manual tranny fluid too. It looked and smelled spent. I replaced it with redline. I also flushed my radiator too but the fluid looked fine. I did notice after I flushed it that there was a little something floating in the reservior tank. I don't think I flushed it correctly. I didn't get the heater core to open up when I was draining it and I only flushed the radiator while it wasn't running. I think it'll be fine until next year when I attempt this again but with my FAQ in hand.

 

You followed the proc to remove the fuel filter from the gas tank? How long did that take?

Also, where did you get a PCV for $6?

 

thats about right--except we replace the microfilter too--also rotate/balance.

what kind of gas do you use--we just replace spark plugs on a 02 maxi with 110k on it and the spark plugs still looked good---was you just curious to go through the back seat of the car and take the fuel sending unit out to look at the fuel filter--just wondering

 

Howd you clean the TB. Don't people usually have problems after doing it?
and I thought the gas filter was a lifetime part?

 

The quality of gas you buy doesn't really have to much to do with how much its service interval is.

 

The quality or lack thereof has a lot to do with the service interval. If you use really cheap gas without good detergents, you wil have more problems with your fuel system components. Do you happen to use cheap gas?

 

did you let the car run long enough for cooling fan to turn on?

i got my ATF drained and refilled at 35k, does anyone swear by a complete flush? how much old ATF is still left after you just drain it?

 

Exactly.................

Dont be cheap, get 93 name brand (mobil, exxon, shell, hess etc.)

 

I'd recommend sticking with these brands:

http://www.toptiergas.com/

 

so does that mean mobil is no good?

 

Nor Exxon or Hess.

 

well toptiergas looks like a legitimate website, but only 1 of those gas stations are in ny, shell, so i would say mobil, exxon, hess are great, i never had any problems w/93, but i know sum people that had sum problems w/ 87 hess, 87 i think is waterdowned at cheap stations, i trust 93 @ hess, mobil, shell & exxon.... IMHO

 

I beg to differ. Depends on how you drive and where you live.

 

Damn, that means no Sheetz chili cheese dogs or Wawa pretzels! You MD, PA and NJ guys know what I'm talking about!

I usually fill up in Chevron or Shell anyway.

 

What about Citgo? Hey, guess i cant start a new thread yet but I just got an 01 max SE 5 speed, 55k miles- traded my 99 grand am 4 cylinder with 101,000 miles- lotta problems. anyway, i just had some questions about stuff like the battery, I'm used to the ACdelco maintenence free, how often do i have to add water, if at all? Also the engine seems to surge if i hold the gas pedal steady in 1st 2nd of 3rd, i guess this is something with the fuel cut?(SES light isnt on) Otherwise its a great car and this seems like a really good site. Oh and I found the fuel cut TSB is that covered uner powertrain warranty still? Since I'm under 60k on an 01.. also i'm thinking of switching to synthetic. How often should i change the gearbox fluid/how do i check it? ok well thanks for any info and sorry to hijack the thread

 

To answer a few questions:

The fuel filter took me about 40 minutes. It was a bit of a pain in the *** but thanks to the great how to FAQ It wasn't too bad. I believe I got the info. from greghome.com The fuel filter is suppose to last a lifetime but mine was quite dirty so I'm glad I changed it. The PCV valve was bought at Courtesy. I may have paid more then 6.00 but it was pretty cheap. The TB was cleaned with intake cleaner. Once I removed the intake it was a piece of cake to clean out. Took me about 25 mintues to remove the intake and another 15 mintues to clean everything. To be on the safe side I used casket sealer on all the gaskets when I put it all together.

 

I used Sheetz once and could tell the difference of it being only 92 octane and my car ran like crap. Never again. I use Wawa 93 in reading area all the time and it runs fine. Occasionally I drive by the sunoco and fill up there though too.
Tuesday I'm going to lancaster though and pass the sunoco that only has 87,89, and 94 octane fuel.....and the 94 octane is the price of everyone elses 93.

 

Is it easy to replace the fuel filter...?

 

Zax - It wasn't easy but it wasn't too difficult either. Go to greghome.com He pics posted and instructions.

 

Fuel filter, can you tell me how you managed to disconnect the fuel lines from the top housing? I tried yesterday and gave up... I cleaned my TB at 60K and it was dirty. PCV replaced from Napa for $7...

 

Tranny fluid - on auto, if you just drain it from the plug only 4 liters come out. I suspect there are still 4-5 left in converter... So may be a more frequent drain would be better than 30K recommended...

 

What did you use to disconnect fuel lines inside the sending unit from the top housing?

 

pardon my ingorance, but what is PCV?

 

You should change your name to "imaricer"

Thanks for the idea Joel

 

Positve Crankcase Ventilation. It's a system that allows any blowby gases to be returned to the combustion chamber to be reburnt.

 

One thing to note about this, however, is that the octane level of gasoline has NOTHING to do with the quality of the gasoline (at a reputable station). Higher octane is only one thing: an index which indicates the gasoline's ability to overcome knocking or pinging in engines.

If your car runs fine on 87 without any knocking or pinging, you should run 87. The same goes for 89, and 93.

 

I replaced my spark plugs at about 44k miles. They were still in great shape. There was no increase in fuel mileage after the replacement either.

I would wait until 75k if I were to do it over.

 

Interesting post. as far the sparks goes I think there's a lot of varibles why it was worn down to the bone. Well I knew doing the fuel filter gonna be a job to tackle which I wouldn't bother doing it unless I'm using bad gas such as ma and pa gas station, thank god none here. Just Chevron, Phillps66, Diamond Shamrock and Giant.

 

soounds like a normal tuneup

 

I'm a bit leery of "flushes" especially is additives or cleaning is involved on high mileage transmissions. Since my fluid looked good I just replaced what drained out.
At 60k I drained the ATF from the trans pan, dropped the pan and replaced the filter. Pan Gasket & filter kit from Advance auto for ~$14. The old fluid looked good, pan magnets had a tiny bits of metal on them, - cleaned them and the pan. The filter had some stuff in its mesh.

A little over 5 qts of ATF drained out this way, I believe that the total capacity is about 10 quarts.